• Published: 1 March 2020

  • ISBN: 978-1-925384-80-2

  • ISBN ePUB: 978-1-925384-81-9

  • Format: Paperback

  • AU: $29.99

  • eBook: $12.99

  • Categories: Historical fiction

Also available as an ebook from Kobo, Apple and Amazon Kindle

About the Author

Blanche d’Alpuget is an acclaimed novelist, biographer and essayist. She has won numerous literary awards, including the inaugural Australasian Prize for Commonwealth Literature in 1987. Her books include Mediator: A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby (1977); Monkeys in the Dark (1980), which won the PEN Jubilee Award; Turtle Beach (1981), which won The Age Novel of the Year Award and the South Australian Premier’s Award; Robert J. Hawke: A Biography (1982), which won the New South Wales Premier’s Award; Winter in Jerusalem (1986); and White Eye (1993). She has twice won the Braille Book of the Year award, and Turtle Beach was made into a feature film in 1992 featuring Greta Scacchi and Jack Thompson. All her novels have been translated into other languages.

The Lioness awakes

By Blanche d’Alpuget

The fourth book in the compelling Birth of the Plantagenets series follows the battle for dominance between Church and Crown.

England, 1171. Thomas Becket is dead, beheaded at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral. As news of his assassination spreads across the country and into Europe, Henry’s reputation as a just and mighty king begins to disintegrate.

Eleanor, no longer loyal, nor in awe of her husband, instigates the revolt she has craved for years—with Henry’s three eldest sons as her allies against their father. Yearning to dethrone him and to gain power and liberty for herself, she beings to stir trouble at court.

But when Henry discovers the plot, will Eleanor be strong enough to withstand his outrage? The punishment for treason is death. And what of the empire they have built together—can it survive when the royal family are at each other’s throats?

The fourth book in the illustrious Birth of the Plantagenets series delves into the feud between the spouses Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, painting the portrait of an empire steeped in conflict, treachery, and wild gambling for power.

Praise for The Series

‘Is there an Australian writer more versatile than Blanche d'Alpuget? She throws herself into the 12th century with astonishing élan to deliver a lusty, gripping account of the Plantagenets.’
ANNABEL CRABB

‘Blanche d’Alpuget writes a compelling epic tale that brings the Plantagenets to vivid life.’
LEIGH SALES

“The character of Thomas Becket will rivet readers as they have not been riveted since Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell.”
THOMAS KENEALLY, AO

‘Blanche D’Alpuget… has a remarkable ear for the passions and cravings of her characters. Her narrative is so fresh and energetic you will swear she’s bringing us a first-hand account.’
STEPHANIE DOWRICK

‘This is exuberant story-telling history, full of sex, passion and politics.’
GERALDINE DOOGUE

Other Titles in the Birth of the Plantagenets series